On Thursday, Oct 17, one of four simulators from the Arrive Alive Tour made its way to the Rockville campus with the sole purpose of reminding students of the importance of safe driving. The simulation was set up in front of the Theater Arts building where students could sit inside a real car and drive virtually as if they were intoxicated.

The features of the exercise allowed students to experience a crash as a result of the experimental DUI. Then members of the tour, Tyler Herbstreith, and Chris Bennett then took the driver’s picture and issued them a citation. Herbstreith said “It’s a very important because students are able to experience a virtual car crash.”

The simulation at the Rockville campus was quite the attraction, “about 100 students went through the simulation,” noted Bennett. “We were at Penn State earlier this week and only got about 30 people come over, but today was a good day.”

The tour is run by UNITE, the nation’s number one health and wellness organization, that designs programs to increase the awareness of the consequences of drunk driving, according to their website.

Another issue the tour focuses on is texting and driving, because statistics prove that texting and driving is worse than driving under the influence. According to Fox 4 News, about 11 teenagers die each day due to texting and driving. Student participants also have access to a virtual phone, allowing them to experience a virtual crash due to distracted driving.

Bennett urges drivers to “open their eyes to danger,” because at any moment, either intoxication or texting can result in unexpected crashes and death. “ If your phone goes off, just leave it,” he adds. “We urge everyone to visit our website, www.arrivealivetour.com , to become more aware of this issue.”

Students are also able to call the organization at 888-436-3394 for more information.